There was supposedly a pair of black, iron gates on a road called Sunset Street near a town called Riverside that allegedly lead to a house filled with devil worshipers. It’s said that if you pass through the “Gates of Hell“ you would be chased by a ghost carrying a headless cat. While those gates are gone and the property has been built over, the legend lingers on as do many in this unique, high desert Southern California community south of Los Angeles. Host to California’s first golf course and home to its famed citrus industry, Riverside, established in 1870, is rife with landmarks linking it to a rich past. And many of these, unlike the Gates of Hell, are still standing and are said to be genuinely and verifiably haunted.

The Mission Inn

Easily the most haunted place in Riverside, the Mission Inn is also the city’s most famous landmark. Built in 1890 and completed in 1947, this blocks-long, Mediterranean-style resort is filled with innumerable spiraling staircases, flying buttresses, towers and courtyards. It’s also said to be haunted by Frank and Alice Miller, the son and daughter of the original owner, C.C. Miller. Many claim these two wander every hallway in the sprawling resort and haunt many rooms and areas including Alice’s room in the east corner of the fourth floor, Frank's room in the northeast corner, room 215, the bridal suite and the catacombs that run beneath the Inn all the way to nearby Mt. Rubidoux. Not only do cell phones cease working in certain areas, but guests often report being touched or pushed, hearing Alice‘s “beautiful singing” or seeing large blue lights floating in the air.

Castle Park

Many amusement parks across the country are said to have attracted and trapped a spirit or two, and Castle Park, beside the 91 Freeway in Riverside, is no exception. Built by Knott’s Berry Farm ride designer Bud Hurlbut in 1976, this long-standing roadside attraction -- said to have been built atop part of an ancient Native American burial ground -- is filled with miniature golf courses, roller coasters, a log ride and the ghost of a “lady in white” who park employees have often reported seeing standing on the Plaza Café balcony. Other playful ectoplasm pranksters are heard slamming doors after hours in the arcade. Oddly enough, only the park’s male employees experience these phenomenon since Castle Park’s spirits are supposedly all girls.

The Morey Mansion

Twelve miles out of town in neighboring Redlands is the Morey Mansion, a sprawling, somewhat gaudy, Queen Ann Victorian-style home built by a couple named David and Sarah Morey in 1890. Once owned by actress Carol Lombard, the mansion became a bed and breakfast in 1985 until it was sold in 2010. It’s also still home to David and Sarah, who are said to haunt its somewhat overly decorated halls. Sarah, so the story goes, died a “tragic death” in 1901 and David committed suicide shortly thereafter. Since then, Sarah’s initials often appear in the ornate decorations, and orbs -- floating ghostly lights -- and hot spots are common. Although the mansion is now a private residence, you can still view it in all its Victorian splendor from the corner of Terracina Boulevard.

The Riverside Bridge Monster

The strangest and perhaps most frightening encounter in Riverside happened at the Main Street Bridge north of the 60 freeway near the 210 and 91 interchange. On November 8, 1958, a man named Charles Wetzel reportedly encountered a green, scaly, pumpkin-headed monster with long thin arms and claws that came out of the brush and clawed at his windshield when he slowed for the swollen Santa Ana River. Wetzel later told Riverside police that he had run the creature down, and although they saw scratches and green smears on the car, a body was never recovered. A similar experience was reported by another driver the next night. However, once the river dried up, aside from odd tracks found near the bridge in the 1970s, so did the monster. You can still investigate the area where it appeared under the south bank side of the bridge.

About the Author

David "Davy" Knoles is an award-winning journalist and artist. He began his career as a wartime photojournalist for the U.S. Air Force. Knoles later served as a staff writer and editor for various L.A. newspapers and magazines, including "The Beach Reporter" and "The Palos Verdes Peninsula News," winning awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association and the California Newspaper Advertising Executives Association.